February 08, 2024
One of our fellow colleagues asked Google Bard to write a sonnet about the dangers of AI in education, and we thought it was worth sharing:
In classrooms bathed in screens, a silent threat,
Where knowledge flows in algorithms' hold,
A double-edged sword, both wise and ill-met,
AI's embrace, a story yet untold...
WIll it replace you and me? While AI can automate tasks that are repetitive and rule-based, spit out possibly biased data, and mimic creative styles, it cannot yet fully replicate empathy, complex problem solving, and true understanding. You are the keyholder to the human experience, which enables you to think independently and create original ideas. AI is solely a tool, and when used appropriately, can produce results which otherwise wouldn't have been possible.
Here are some numbers to consider (Note: When we say "generative AI", it refers to tools like ChatGPT and Bard):
- 49% of students are already using generative AI tools
- 90% of higher education faculty believe that it will be an essential workplace skill (GenAI in Higher Education, Tyton Pratners and Turnitin) and
- 97% of organizations will have implemented generative AI within the next two years (Maximizing Business Potential with Generative AI)
So if AI is here to stay, how will this affect the classroom?
- Be clear to students about how and when your students should use and credit AI. Discuss its capabilities and limitations.
- Encourage generative tools as a complement, not a replacement. Ex: Students can use ChatGPT to create multiple outlines for an essay, and they decide which outline best gets the point across for a specific audience (Grammarly, The AI revolution in Higher Ed).
- Assess students knowledge in alternative and challenging ways
Efficiency, its siren song so sweet,
Lures teachers from their vital, human spark,
Reducing minds to data, incomplete,
Where individuality leaves its mark.
Oh, let us learn, not just from code's command,
But nurture hearts and minds, hand in hand (Google Bard, Feb 2024).
Your Instructional Technologists,
Stephanie Eusebio & Kat Munoz
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